THE SECRET GARDEN

Director Agnieszka Holland (Europa, Europa) and writer Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands) weave a lovely adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic novel. Orphaned in India, where her transplanted English parents lived before falling victim to an earthquake, Mary comes to the cold household of her uncle. There she is viewed as nothing but a nuisance by the housekeeper (Maggie Smith), and is ordered to stay in her room. Mary doesn’t obey, and in her explorations discovers the room of her sickly cousin, Colin. Outside, she finds something even more wondrous: the secret garden of her late aunt. With the help of Dickon, a local boy who can talk with animals, Mary sets about reclaiming the garden. (USA/UK, 1993, 102 min., color, Rated G) Suitable for all ages